THROUGH THE MILL
[Illustration: THEN THE EPILEPTIC OCTOGENARIAN LET ME GO AND THE PAUPER
LINE WENT IN BEFORE THE PARISH CLERK FOR THE CHARITY SHILLING]
THROUGH THE
MILL
_THE LIFE OF A MILL-BOY_
BY
AL PRIDDY
_ILLUSTRATIONS BY
WLADYSLAW T. BENDA_
[Illustration]
THE PILGRIM PRESS
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO
_Copyright, 1911_
BY LUTHER H. CARY
THE · PLIMPTON · PRESS
[W · D · O]
NORWOOD · MASS · U · S · A
Affectionately Dedicated
TO
MY WIFE
“_Still, all day, the iron wheels go onward,
Grinding life down from its mark;
And the children’s souls, which God is calling sunward,
Spin on blindly in the dark._”
--E. B. BROWNING
_Note_
How many thousand pens are busy reporting and recording mill life! It
is a splendid commentary on the fineness of our social conscience that
there are so many champions on behalf of overworked boys and girls.
Coming now, to take its place among the multitudes of investigations
and faithful records of factory life, is this frank, absolutely real
and dispassionate Autobiography--written by a mill-boy who has lived
the experiences of this book. So far as can be found this is the _first
time that such an Autobiography has been printed in English_.
Since its appearance in the Outlook, the Autobiography has been
entirely rewritten and new chapters have been added, so that the book
will be practically new to anyone who chanced to read the Outlook
chapters.
_Contents_
CHAPTER I PAGE
_A Mixture of Fish, Wrangles, and Beer_ 3